Painting Flowers
by Uzumaki Hatsue
Summary: Alice returns to Otherworld but plans to go back soon because she misses a certain someone. The Hatter, who has been knighted, is living in denial about his feelings for Alice but will hopefully realize what this weird feeling is with the help of Absolem
1. The Poison

**A/N: **I saw Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland just this week and you know what? I loved it so much I went and saw it twice :D I especially loved Alice and the Hatter, and in my opinion, there was something more between them than just, ahem, friendship :D So here is my newest fanfic all about Alice and Tarrant. Enjoy!:)

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Alice in Wonderland or any of its characters (But if I did, I would have left the kiss in the bloody script!).

**Painting Flowers**

**Chapter One. _The Poison_  
**

Alice took the flask filled with the Jabberwocky's blood from Queen Mirana's hands. "This will take you back home, if you wish to do so" The White Queen smiled a sad smile, but a true smile none the less. The girl in armor nodded and smiled in thanks. Opening the tiny bottle, Alice examined the purple liquid and sniffed at it. It smelled perfectly horrid, but she guessed that was the price for returning back to Otherworld.

"You could stay, you know"

Alice turned and looked into the face of her friend, the Hatter. He looked very hopeful and for a moment her heart gave a weird lurch. His eyes, Alice thought, were one of the most wondrous things she had ever seen.

"What a mad idea, a brilliant, marvelous, mad idea." She smiled at him and his entire face lit up as if she had just given him the greatest present in the world. "But I can't. There are questions to be answered and things I have to do in Otherworld…"

Tarrant looked at her with sad eyes now. In fact, he was wondering why his heart suddenly hurt so much. She was only a friend, a dear friend, a beloved friend. His heart nearly stopped as he realized another fact that was so obvious it could have been written in the sky for all he cared.

"You won't remember me"

It was not a question. It was a fact.

Alice looked him in the eyes "I will. I promise. I'll come back here someday."

A bittersweet smile played over the Hatters face. He knew she would forget him and go and be happy in the world above them, but he didn't want to fully admit it to himself right now. He had her word that she wouldn't forget him. That would have to suffice for now.

"Hatter, why _is _a raven like a writing desk?"

"I haven't the slightest idea." They grinned at each other.

He leaned forward, and he almost thought he had enough courage to kiss her on the cheek, but decided otherwise.

"Fairfarren, Alice" he whispered in her ear.

Alice held her breath that moment. She knew she had to leave now before she could change her mind about leaving this wonderful place and the wonderful people and creatures in it.

The Champion drank the Jabberwocky blood in one go.

One more smile, one more look at the Hatter, and she was gone.

* * *

Climbing out of the rabbit hole was a more difficult task than Alice had imagined. When she finally stood, she took in the nice smell of the flowers and trees surrounding her. It was a pretty day full of sunshine. She took one more breath and headed back to the gazebo, where Hamish and the rest of the guests would be waiting. She had decided to be completely honest with everyone, and after she had declined Hamish's offer of marriage and given everyone a piece of her mind, she felt truly confident of herself and as Hamish's father made her the offer to become an apprentice in the Company, she couldn't have been happier. After a month of planning and organizing, the ship _Wonder_ set off to China, with Alice on it.

* * *

"Ready to set sail, Captain!" a sailor called.

"Well then, let's be off, boys!" the captain, a rather burly man with gray hair called. "Miss Alice, be sure to wave goodbye to your family, you won't be seeing them again so soon."

Alice, radiating with happiness and filled with anticipation, smiled at the man "Thank you, sir. I'll be over by the railing"

Finally, after all the time that had passed, Alice had the chance to fulfill her father's dreams and actually, her own.

_I wonder if China will be just as beautiful as Wonderland_…

Smiling at that thought, she waved to her mother and her sister, wishing them all the happiness in the world and saying she would come back safely.

The ship set sail, and Alice stood at the front of it and inhaled the salty sea air. Once again she thought of Wonderland, wondering how the Hatter and the rest of her friends were doing. Suddenly something fluttered by her shoulder. It was a beautiful blue butterfly. Alice smiled, realizing who that butterfly was.

"Hello Absolem"

* * *

"Stand forth, Tarrant Hightopp"

It was a fantastical view to behold. The whole court was assembled in the great hall of Mamoreal. The Tweedletwins, the Cheshire Cat, the little Dormouse, the March Hare and Bayard stood way up front near the place where the Mad Hatter would be knighted.

_Knighted_.

At the sound of his name, Tarrant gave a sweeping bow and took off his hat, kneeling down on one knee. A beautiful pure white sword lay in the White Queens hands.

"For your outstanding courage and undying loyalty to my Kingdom and myself, I knight you, Tarrant Hightopp, to one of the White Knights. You will return once more to your position as Royal Hatter at Mamoreal. Stand now, _Sir_ Hightopp." The Queen lowered her sword, which she had placed gently one one of Tarrant's shoulders. "Thank you for all you have done" she said quietly as he stood once more and bowed to Mirana. The crowd cheered and the men threw their hats into the air as both turned to look at their friends. The Hatter beamed and thought he might dance the Futterwacken later on.

"Let this be a joyous day!" Mirana now spoke to everyone "And let us not forget how Alice Kingsleigh freed us all from the Jabberwocky and the tyranny of my wicked sister!" More cheers erupted and the Queen smiled benevolently.

Tarrant, on the other hand, wasn't as cheerful on the inside anymore as you might expect of someone who was just granted knighthood by the queen. At the mentioning of Alice, his whole frame became a little smaller, his eyes looked sadder and his heart grew sore. Yet on the outside, no one really noticed these changes since he still had a smile plastered on his face.

The girl who had defeated the Jabberwocky had also kinda defeated his heart.

* * *

**A/N:** Thank you for reading! Reviews would make me dance the Futterwacken.


	2. Alice

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Alice in Wonderland

* * *

**Painting Flowers **

**Chapter Two. _Alice._**

"Sir Hightopp. That sounds quite dashing!" Mallymkum said, climbing up to the Hatters shoulder.

"Yes, it does, doesn't it…" he stated absentmindedly while putting his hat back on.

"Is something wrong?" the little dormouse asked, looking concerned.

"Of course something's wrong, you silly mouse." Absolem, who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere snapped at Mallymkum.

"Absolem, wise friend, whatever makes you say that?" Tarrant smiled shyly and dusted off his pants "I feel perfectly fine, I'm a White Knight now, you know. Who shouldn't feel fine when the Queen herself knighted you just minutes ago and everybody was watching and listening and I'm wearing my best suit, you know, it's fantastic, fascinating, phenomenal-"

"TARRANT!" Mally and Absolem yelled at the same time.

"Ugh-thank you. I'm fine." The Hatter calmed himself after his rant.

"And for your information, 'phenomenal" does not begin with an 'f'." Absolem raised one tiny butterfly eyebrow at him.

"Oh it doesn't?" Tarrant laughed sheepishly and started to walk around the great hall.

Mallymkum eyed Tarrant suspiciously. Normally the Hatter knew how to spell words correctly. Hmm. Weird.

"I just went to see Alice, by the way."

The Mad Hatter stopped abruptly and began laughing hysterically "Who-Whoever can he mean??"

Absolem fluttered in front of his face and looked at him as if he were a mad person, which he probably was.

"Alice."

"I know of no Ahahahaalice!" more hysterical laughing, but Absolem had enough of that. The butterfly flew dangerously close to the Hatters eyes.

"Alice wore a blue coat when I saw her. Didn't you think blue suited her best, Tarrant? She looked very happy. She hasn't lost her muchness at all. In fact, a lot of sailors on the ship she was on looked at her quite fondly."

The Hatters eyes turned to gold slits and his Scottish accent flamed up "Now hear you, you bloody butterfly, I want to hear no more of this, or I'll rip your bloody little wings to shreds!"

"Denial never led to anything, Tarrant." Absolem held his position in front of Tarrant's face.

"What are you two talking about?!" Mallymkum, who had stayed quiet for some time, finally spoke up.

"Alice!" Tarrant and Absolem shouted in unison.

* * *

"Miss Alice!" a young sailor who was a little older than Alice called.

"Yes, sailor?" Alice turned around to look at him. She had actually been standing in the same place since they left the harbor an hour ago. And because she had caught a little glimpse of Absolem, who had suddenly disappeared again, she had hoped she might see him again.

"My name's Thomas, miss. I'd be happy to escort you to your rooms now, if you wish. Your belongings have been brought there already." Thomas looked a bit nervous whilst talking to her and she noticed his other comrades were looking stealthily in their direction, waiting to see Alice's reaction.

"Thank you, Mr. Thomas. I'd be happy to follow."

"Oh no, call me Thomas please." He smiled at her warmly and led her down the stairs into the lower part of the ship.

Alice hadn't failed to notice his accent "You're from Scotland, aren't you, Thomas?"

"Oh yes, miss. How did you know? Most people think I'm from Ireland."

Alice smiled to herself "I have a dear friend who starts speaking in a Scottish accent when he's angry…that's probably why I recognized it."

Alice thought of the Hatter and wondered when she might be going back to Wonderland and if he would remember her. At night, she sometimes dreamed about their last meeting, the final day on the battle field. He looked so sad and Alice asked herself why she didn't hug him goodbye.

_Maybe he would have thought it impertinent…_

It was actually always only the Hatter she dreamed about, never anyone else. They had become rather close over those few days she spent in Underland and she missed his company terribly. Suddenly she thought about how he had said that she could stay. Why hadn't she stayed? Alice suddenly grew very sad at that thought and hadn't even noticed that Thomas had said something.

"…sounds a bit mad, if you ask me."

"Oh, excuse me Thomas, what were you saying?"

"I was saying that your friend there sounds a bit mad, you see, if he only ever speaks with a Scottish accent when he's angry." Thomas meant it as a joke, but Alice didn't think it was funny. She was offended, actually "Well yes, he is mad, but he's a much better person for it. The best people are mad."

"Uh, oh, well…here's your room, Miss Alice." Thomas opened the door to a cozy little room that was decorated in light blue, with a bed and a writing desk under a small window. The writing desk reminded her of the Hatters favorite riddle.

"To the right are two other doors, one is to your closet and the other is a bathroom. I, uh..I'm sorry if I offended you in any way, miss Alice. I'm sure your friend is an honorable man."

Alice felt bad for having been so harsh in her judgment of him and smiled "Tell me, why is a raven like a writing desk?"

Thomas smiled at her too, although a little confused.

"I wouldn't know. Why?"

"I'll leave you to think about it." Alice grinned wickedly, went into her room and shut the door behind her.

She sat on her bed and took the little flask the Queen had given her out of a pocket of her coat. It was the only thing she had left from Underland. Holding it in her palm, she could almost believe she was back there, the Hatter standing behind her, her other friends in front of her.

_You could stay, you know._

"No, I couldn't have stayed. It's good as it is." Alice said to herself. "I'll be back someday. Though I rather wish that day would be sooner than later…Right now I'll go to China, and straight after that I'll return home and visit the Ascot's garden so that I can see them again…Of course it will be complicated to get in there...Oh well, I'll manage. Then I'll tell the Hatter everything about China, he'll be so-" but she stopped. The Hatter. Tarrant. Why hadn't she called him by his real name in Underland? "Tarrant…it's quite a fascinating name, it rather suits him."

She got up and opened the window, enjoying the sea breeze that smelled so nice.

"If I were a cloud…I would be a cloud in Wonderland. Yes, that would be lovely." Alice smiled. Another impossible thing to think of.

_"But this is impossible…"_

_"Only if you believe it is." _

Sighing, she wished herself to Underland, but she knew that she wouldn't return all too soon.

* * *

"Have you gone mad now too, Absolem? What is the problem? Alice is in the Otherworld!" Mallymkum was very confused.

"Silly mouse. Of course she is. Yet a certain someone wishes himself there too."

"Who?"

"Ah well. Who."

"You must always talk wise things, mustn't you, Absolem?" the dormouse was starting to get annoyed.

"A certain someone wishes to be _here_, thank you very much." Tarrant growled, the gold in his eyes still visible.

"Here is not _there_."

"You know _here_ is perfectly fine. The tea is exquisite. _Here_"

"Here and there are perfectly different. The only _here_ you would want is when a certain _she _would be _here_ but she is _there_, so you would automatically rather be _there_, and therefore not _here_."

A rather nasty string of underlandish insults were thrown at Absolem after that.

"Don't lose your temper!" Mally cried in his ear.

Calming down, the Hatters eyes were light green again. He smoothed his jacket and said with his normal lisp "Well, if a certain she had not left here then she wouldn't be there and a certain he doesn't even want to be there at all, no sir, not at all, thank you very much."

"Ah."

Now the hatter was utterly baffled "Ah??"

"Ah, two letters."

"Aha."

"That also begins with an "A", as you surely have noticed."

"Oh, were you investigating things that begin with an 'A'?" The hatter thought Absolem had finally changed the subject.

"Well, I have found a few words."

"Antagonizing!" Tarrant started.

"Absolute" Absolem continued.

"Amazing!" Tarrant grinned.

"Answers" Absolem sighed.

"Affection" Tarrant laughed.

"Alice." Now Absolem grinned. Guess who didn't.

"It's funny how that certain _he_ doesn't want to be there, with a certain _she_, while that _she_ wants to be here, with a certain_ he_." Absolem stated neutrally and then flew away, leaving Tarrant looking stunned and to be honest, shocked.

"Absolem! Now wait here, you unjust insect!"

"Excuse me?" Absolem turned midflight and hovered.

"No, she forgot about me, she can't want to be here! She's forgotten us. It's been two months. Yes, she's forgotten us!"

"Your denial is getting bothersome and as I said, it will not get you anywhere, stupid Hatter."

"H-how…how can you know that she wants to be here?" Tarrant asked slowly, feeling rotten inside but not knowing the reason.

"I know what everyone wants. I know what everyone thinks. I am Absolem. The problem is that you are not Absolem, and therefore you do not know what you want, or rather, you know what you want but you deny that you want it. I cannot help you any further." And then the blue butterfly disappeared.

"You miss her, don't you?" Mally carefully asked.

Miss her? Did he miss her? Her? Alice? The Hatter stared at the floor. What was this terrible feeling that hurt his stomach and his heart? Was that 'missing'?

"I…I don't know. I think I do."

Mally looked up into his face and saw something that made her gasp: his eyes had suddenly flashed a piercing blue but had turned back to green instantly.

"What?" Tarrant asked.

"Uh, nothing. I just thought your eyes had turned blue but I must have imagined it." She stuttered nervously. Was she seeing things? No, certainly not.

"How queer." Was his only reply before the Queen came to him and beamed.

"Sir Hightopp! Since the ball will begin in a few minutes time, I decided to ask you to be my first dance partner. Will you do me the honor?"

"Of course, your majesty." Tarrant smiled and bowed, not wanting to think about Alice anymore.

* * *

**A/N**: Thank you for reading!:) Reviews make me dance the Futterwacken with a teapot on my head :]


	3. Welcome to Mystery

**A/N:** Thank you all for faving my story and thanks to the reviewers :D I'm glad you like this. And yes, thank you, I had a lot of fun Futterwacking with a teapot on my head! You should try it once. And as my evil plan has been discovered by someone named Sarah, I shall tell you all, yes, I am tremendously in love with the "Almost Alice" soundtrack thingy (and advise you to buy it because it is marvelous) and am therefore using the titles of some songs as chapter names :) Painting Flowers and The Poison are my absolute (Absolem, haha) favorites and so Painting Flowers became the title to this fanfic. And because I think those two songs were just _made_ for Alice and the Hatter :)

So without further adooo, the disclaimer and of course the main attraction follows (the beginning may be a bit weird or whatever but bear with me now!). Enjoy.

**Disclaimer**: I do noooot own Alice in Wonderland.

* * *

**Painting Flowers**

**Chapter Three. _Welcome to Mystery_**

Alice swore. Tying a rope to some weird mechanical thing that was fastened to the mast was much more difficult than she would have thought. If she were the Red Queen, Alice would have said "Off with its head!" She laughed silently at the thought. Suddenly the rope somehow pulled itself free of Alice's grip "Bloody hell! You damned thing!"

A few sailors nearby laughed and whistled "Hear, hear, miss Alice swears like a sailor!"

Turning red, Alice continued working with the 'damned thing' until a pair of stronger hands took it from her and knotted it tightly to the mast.

"Now, boys, if a Lady is in distress, you are supposed to help." The Captain said this like a threat, and since the sailors had a great amount of respect for him, they shouted "Yes, Captain!"

The Captain was not satisfied though. He gave the men a stern look and like a chorus, they said "We're sorry, Miss Alice"

Now Alice laughed and smiled at the sailors. They really were a funny pack of men.

"Much better." The Captain nodded and then turned to Alice "I'm sorry, my dear. They don't know how to treat a lady properly."

"Oh, no, they are just fooling around. I'd rather have that than stuck up lords walking around me!" Alice smiled, there was one particular lord she was thinking about. The Crew laughed and everyone smiled at Alice.

"Well, just feel yourself at home. This will be your home now for quite a while so we all should get along well." With another friendly smile he left and went back to the Captains quarters.

A taller man walked over to Alice, she recognized him as Thomas. Hadn't Alice's heart been somewhat occupied at the moment, she would have noticed that Thomas was really something to look at. His dark hair and blue eyes made him look very mysterious.

"I think the Captain is right. We should all get to know each other! And since we're on a tiny break, I will introduce you to my friends." He ushered a smaller red haired individual towards Alice. "This is Edmund. He's also from Scotland."

"Hello Edmund" Alice shook his hand and smiled.

"Hello, Miss Alice! I'm very pleased to meet you."

"Next!" Thomas said.

Three men came at the same time and eagerly introduced themselves by themselves. One was named Carl, the other Alexander and the last was Patrick. They all looked very similar and so Alice asked if they were related, and indeed, they were brothers who came from Derbyshire.

Soon Alice knew half the crew of the ship. They seemed to be very interested in her, and she was treated like a friend by everyone. She told the boys they shouldn't call her 'miss', only Alice. This suited everyone well because they didn't stand upon ceremony here.

In the evening, she sat on deck with a few of her new friends laughing merrily at Edmunds jokes. Alice looked up into the sky and noticed the stars had already started to shine magnificently. Once again she thought back to Wonderland. To Mamoreal, actually. The night before the Frabjous day…when she and the Hatter stood on the terrace and looked into the night sky. Alice sighed deeply, wishing she had said something kinder to the Hatter than "Your only real in my dream". He was real. She was certain of it. And she also wished she had took his hand or something. Oh lord, _he_ should have taken _her_ hand…why was she thinking such things? Stupid, impossible things. Things that made her very sad.

Apparently, Thomas had spotted her sudden mood swing "Alice, what's the matter?"

"Yeah, Alice, what's wrong?" others asked.

"Oh I was just thinking of a…friend." She tried to smile but couldn't and looked up to the night sky once more. What was this…_queer_ feeling inside her? Like a boa constrictor that was wrapping itself around her organs, especially her heart.

"Ah, are you talking about the one with the angry Scottish accent?" he chuckled a bit but stopped when Alice bowed her head to look at her hands.

"Yes, the very one"

"Are- uh, are you two…ah…betrothed?" a muscular guy called Damon asked coyly.

Alice head shot up and she blushed furiously "No! Oh no! We aren't. Whatever gave you that idea!"

Audible sighs of relief were heard all over but Alice was oblivious to them because she suddenly had to laugh. The Hatter and her- engaged! What a mad idea. Really mad... So mad it was impossible.

_Only if you think it is. _

…Okay really, she had to stop hearing his voice in her head. It was starting to freak her out.

"Tell us about your life among the rich people. We're all poor sons of fishing families here, and we've heard very odd rumors about how the upper class men walk. Is it true they all have a poker up their arse so that they walk straight?" Edmund asked, trying to lighten up the mood. Everyone laughed and Alice said " Oh, you have reason to think that. There's a man I once knew and he was the worst of men. He thought everything and everyone was beneath him and he was so sure that I would accept him when he asked for my hand in marriage that he arranged the engagement party without my knowing."

"And then what happened??"

"Well…I had to decline him in front of all his relatives and friends. I think he was quite embarrassed…but rather by the fact that I told him to his face that I didn't care for his digestion problem" Alice grinned mischievously at the memory of Hamish's stunned face and the dumbfounded face of his mother. The sailors laughed and Alice felt comfortable to be among happy people while she still felt a little awkward and weird when she thought of Tarrant and his burning light green eyes.

"But not all of the men are bad. There are noble men too, like his father or mine…" she smiled. She had loved her father very much.

"Where did you meet the angry Scotsman?" Carl asked, and Thomas boxed him in the ribs.

Ah. Yet again the lovely confusing subject: Tarrant.

"I..met him while…while I was on vacation. I cannot remember the name of the place I went though, it was a very long and confusing name…uh." Alice didn't particularly like lying, but she didn't want to tell them about Wonderland. "He's a hatter, you know. Very talented…He's made hats for the Queen." Alice grinned at that slight lie. Naturally she meant the White Queen, but they would automatically think about the English Queen.

"You miss him, as he misses you, stupid girl." A familiar voice whispered into her ear. She turned abruptly. "Absolem?"

But she didn't see him anywhere. "What's 'Absolem'?" Thomas asked.

"Ah, nothing. I think I'm a bit tired. I think I'll go to bed now. Good night!"

The sailors all stood up and wanted to escort her to her room, but she declined "Thank you, but I'll find the way myself. Sleep well, all of you"

"Good night, Alice!"

"Sweet dreams!!!"

"Sleep tight!!!"

After she changed into her night gown she flung herself onto her bed. A wave of sadness overthrew her.

The White Queen, the Tweedletwins, the dormouse, the march hare, the Cheshire Cat…Tarrant, the Mad Hatter.

She thought of all of them but her thoughts lingered longest with Tarrant. Why? She hadn't the slightest idea. His name, his eyes, his orange hair, his nice scent. She thought about everything. Why had she left? And why was she thinking such things? Thoroughly confused, tears came to her eyes.

_This is madness! Stop crying, Alice Kingsleigh. There is no reason for crying. _

Willing herself to stop, she turned onto her side and pulled the blanket over her head. Before she fell asleep, she swore she heard a faint "Sleep now, you lovesick, stupid girl."

* * *

He was exhausted. Truly, utterly exhausted. He had danced the whole night, starting to forget about Alice only after the twenty-second dance.

He knew.

He had counted.

Twice.

First, the Queen had danced with him. That was fine. After the Ladies of the Court saw the Queen had danced with the Hatter, they all wanted to dance with the Hatter.

Or wait, maybe it was because he was just knighted. Well, who cares.

And since he was such an utter gentleman, he made sure he danced with every Lady that wanted to dance with him.

There are 120 ladies at court. 70 were present.

Yes. Now you understand how exhausted he was.

He stumbled into his chambers, which the Queen had assigned him as long as he stayed at court. The main bedroom was really ginourmous so it took a while to get to the bed.

Finally arriving at his destination, he lay on his back and began untying his bow tie.

"Oh dear, someone's tired." A grinning cat face appeared directly above him.

"Oh leave me alone, you furry beast. Gooooo"

"Aren't you too sleepy to talk to me?" the Cheshire Cat grinned and turned around itself, whole body appearing now.

"I do want to sleep you pesky flea bag!" Although it was too dark to see it, his eyes turned gold.

"Alice wouldn't be so mean to me if I were to go to her."

The Hatter exhaled deeply. Why was everyone talking about her? It was like someone threw salt into his eyes every chance they got. Or was it 'throwing salt into his wounds'? …Whatever. Same thing.

"Shut your gob, now, seriously." Scottish accent, Scottish accent!

"Absolem's with her right now. He's watching over her. He says he doesn't trust all the good-looking, sane, handsome sailors on that ship she's on" One more wicked grin, and Chess evaporated before Tarrant got the chance to strangle it.

Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale.

Alright. Obviously everyone was talking about Alice. Why? Why to him? Why at all? Wasn't it better to just leave her be and get on with their normal lives now? Not that he didn't like Alice, he really liked her. She was one of the closest friends he had, but it suddenly hurt excruciatingly to talk or even think about her. Did he know why? Well, honestly, he had a notion. But that couldn't be it, it was too mad and impossible to even be true.

But one thing was for damn certain.

He missed Alice.

* * *

**A/N**: Haha, did anyone notice that "chapter three, welcome to mystery" rimes?:D ....oh well, maybe it's just me. Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed it! Reviews make me dance the Futterwacken with a teapot on my head and a dormouse on my shoulder (It will continue like this, but I'm running out of ideas xD)


	4. Follow me down

**A/N**: Hurrayyyy I finally finished this chapter!! I got stuck big time. Do you know how that is? It sucks :D Thanks again to all the people who faved and reviewed and alerted and whatnot :) I hope you will enjoy this chapter as much as you enjoyed the rest.

* * *

**Painting Flowers**

**Chapter four. _Follow me down_**

Sighing, Tarrant set off to the royal dining hall. He hadn't slept well at all. Dreams of talking teapots and spoons with fangs that wanted to bite him in his bottom kept him awake. Not that the spoons had bothered him, but one of the teapots had a voice that was quite familiar to him, seeing that it belonged to a pretty blond English girl.

So it was understandable that he didn't necessarily want to fall asleep again because he didn't want to hear that voice, but on the other hand he wanted to sleep because he would hear that voice in his head either way. It was very complicated, you see.

Contemplating on his weird dreams, he did not pay attention to where he was going and therefore ran into Tweedledee.

"Oh! Sorry, friend. I was thinking."

"Thinking is not knowing but rather not walking! Plus, it's a dangerous thing." Tweedledee scratched his head and then raised his eyebrows "Morning, Sir Hightopp! Have you seen Tweedledum?"

Tarrant shook his head "Please continue calling me Tarrant or Hatter or whatever suits you, and no, I have not seen Tweedledum, but I'm sure he's here somewhere!" He smiled and together they entered through big wooden doors that led to the dining hall.

"Ah, Sir Hightopp!" The Queen greeted him enthusiastically, waving him over to sit by her. The Royal dining hall was huge. Everything was made out of white marble and there were beautiful large windows that led to one big terrace on the left side of the room. You would expect one long table for everyone to sit at, but there were about 50 round tables that allowed the people of court to sit in groups and have conversations of their own. The Queen sat at the biggest of the round tables, her White Knave sitting next to her.

The Hatter bowed and sat down in the free space between Thackery and Mallymkum. Absolem fluttered next to one of Mally's glasses, having a tiny glass of his own. At the sight of Absolem Tarrant growled a bit, but shook his head rapidly to stop himself.

"Take a scone, they're very delicious this morning." Mirana handed him a plate with hingsberry scones and he took one, thanking the Queen while doing so.

"You came just at the right moment, Absolem was just telling us about how Alice is doing in Otherworld!"

Tarrant choked on his scone.

The March Hare threw a teacup at his back to help.

"Ah-*cough*-really? How splendid!" the man with the orange hair coughed a few more times and then sat very stiff in his seat.

"Yes, I had the chance to see her before she went to bed." Absolem stated solemnly, as if he hadn't noticed the Hatter.

"Oh, and how was our dear Champion? Feeling well, I hope?" Mirana sighed "We do miss her here. I wish she would come back soon"

"I bet she's fine with all those handsome sailors to protect her" Chessur grinned wickedly in Tarrant's direction.

He blinked a few times, but did not react in any way.

"Oho? Good-looking sailors? Well, that's something! Maybe she has found herself a suitor!" The Queen chuckled happily.

Tarrant blinked again. He had stopped breathing, by the way.

"Ah, well. Before she fell asleep she wept." The blue butterfly conveyed.

Suddenly Tarrant was on his feet "What? What happened? Is she alright? Absolem TALK!" he almost hollered.

"Calm down."

"Don' tell me to calm down ye ruddy butterfly! What's wrong with Alice?!" his rogue Scottish accent made Mirana widen her eyes.

"She misses here."

Confused and breathing raggedly, Tarrant sat back down again. "Forgive me, your majesty."

"Why, Hatter, I had no idea you felt so strongly towards our Champion."

"Indeed" Chess snickered.

Trying to regain his composure, Tarrant straightened his hat "As a matter of fact, I do feel strongly towards Alice, although only because she is such a dear friend to all of us and saved Underland."

Somewhere deep down his conscience whispered '_Liaaaar…you are lying to the Queeen! Be ashaaaamed, be very ashaaamed!' _

"Oh, and I thought there was a more romantic reason behind that outburst…" Mirana smiled dreamily, clearly thinking a romantic reason would be so much more interesting than mere concern.

"Perish the thought!" The Mad Hatter laughed one of his trademark hysterical laughs and took a big bite out of his scone.

"Why, if poor Alice misses here, she should come visit again some time. I would really enjoy her company here." Mirana meant her words, for she was a bit lonely in her gigantic castle and definitely could use a friend to talk to.

"I think if someone were to visit her, she would feel better" Absolem suggested.

"What a delightful idea!" Mirana clapped her pale hands together "I would love to go and visit her, but alas, my duties as Queen keep me here." She tilted her head to the side and frowned a bit but soon smiled again "I think one of you should go and visit! Who would care to go?"

The whole party of Alice's friends raised their hands and said "Me!" or "I'd like to go see Alice!".

All, except for the Hatter.

Inside his brain, a war raged.

_Should I go?_

**_No. She's definitely forgotten about you, you lunatic._**

_But maybe she didn't forget! _

**_You really want to take that chance?_**

_I'd like to see her…_

**_You'll get your heart ripped out of your chest. And you would miss your tea parties!_**

_Oh, right, the tea._

**_Yeeees. The tea!_**

_Now wait a minute, there's plenty of tea in England, for sure! Stop manipulating me!_

**_I'm not manipulating you, you fool!_** I**_ am manipulating _**me!

_Am not!_

**_Am too! _**

_My head hurts. I think we should stop now_.

**_Good idea. _**

Tarrant rubbed his head, thankful that the war was over. He had decided, no, he wouldn't go.

"Wise Absolem, as you see everyone is keen to see Alice..except maybe…uh…the Hatter…but well, take your pick, who will go with you?" Mirana was a little confused because the Hatter stared at her happily, yet he seemed in a far away land of his own.

"Tarrant." The tiny butterfly said.

"Um, excuse me?" the Hatter asked.

"Tarrant will go with me."

The man furrowed his brows, for he was a little confused "I didn't raise my hand, Absolem"

"Fate does not need anyone to raise his hand, stupid boy. And since I know what Fate wants I know that you are to come with me to visit Alice."

"But I don't want-" Tarrant started to protest, but then suddenly saw the Queen looking downright bewildered at his unwillingness to go see Underland's most beloved Champion, let alone his supposed 'friend'.

"I'd be delighted" he gave in and accepted the fact that he had to go to Otherworld. Alice's other friends sighed and were disappointed that Fate hadn't chosen them to go to Alice, but they also knew that Fate knew what he was doing.

"It's settled then! The Royal Hatter will go to Otherworld to see Alice" now the Queen beamed and finished eating her own scone.

Tarrant, in the mean time, was contemplating on a) He was going to see Alice. b) He was sure she had forgotten him. c) He was not entirely sure if she had really forgotten him, and in the event that she shouldn't have forgotten him, what would he do? d) Alice was his friend, wasn't she? It should thrill him to go and see her.

Truth be told, it scared him to see her, because he knew he missed her, and 'missing' someone was an entirely new feeling to him. The last time she had left he didn't feel so sorrowful and he hadn't missed her at all. He had merely thought of her once in a blue moon (and blue moons don't occur often in Underland, only ever Haggerliday or so) and thought "How fun it was celebrating unbirthdays with that little girl!". But Alice wasn't a little girl anymore. Alice was a grown girl, even if she was mostly either too small or too tall every time he saw her. How would he have to react upon seeing her, now that he missed her? Does the person you miss acknowledge the 'missing'? Can she see it in his face? And why did the thought make him feel uncomfortable and embarrassed? She made him feel weird inside and good at the same time. He remembered the time she put her hands on his face and told him that the best people are bonkers. She was bonkers too, so maybe Fate wanted them to be friends. In the end the Hatter believed 'missing' was a most curious and confusing state of mind.

He barely noticed that Absolem announced that they were to leave tomorrow and how the others congratulated Tarrant on finally going to see Otherworld and how they all wanted Tarrant to tell Alice how much they regretted not coming to see her and how they wanted her to come back.

While her faithful subjects passed on their wishes for Alice to the Hatter, Queen Mirana was the only one to see how forlorn Tarrant really looked while he was trying to fake a smile, nodding at everything anyone said. Worried, she glanced at Absolem, who in that moment decided to look at her, too. Absolem sighed and gave a curt nod. The Queen took that to be a confirmation to her worries. Something was wrong with the Hatter…

* * *

Alice found she relatively enjoyed being at sea, particularly on a ship as beautiful as _Wonder. _She was walking across the gleaming deck to the Captains quarters were she should meet up with Mr Brandon, another visionary like herself who had filled in for Mr Ascot because he couldn't be a part of their journey seeing as he had work to take care of back home for the Company.

Knocking at the stained glass door that glistened due to the morning sun, a deep voice allowed her to enter and she found the Captain and Mr Brandon sitting at a tea table in the middle of the nicely decorated room.

"Ah, good morning, Miss Kingsleigh. Take a seat" Both men stood as she entered the room and the Captain offered her the place next to him. It was a round table, so it didn't really matter where she sat, she would always be next to both of the men.

"Good morning." Alice looked mirthful and sat down.

"We were just discussing how the weather seems to be holding up just fine. If we're lucky, we'll make it to China without any problems." Mr Brandon poured her some tea and offered her sugar, of which she took two pieces.

"Difficulties and storms are nothing to _Wonder._ She is a well-crafted ship" the captain said with a proud demeanor.

"I bet she is" Alice smiled wholeheartedly and took a sip of her tea.

"Anyhow, we should be arriving in China in about two months. I have a few contacts that will meet us in Hong Kong and from there on we will take a look at the situation of the market. I believe we will be a real sensation over there."

They chattered animatedly about all the things they were going to do and see that Alice forgot the time. These two men were such nice company and she thought she had never been happier anywhere else. Alice automatically felt a slight pain in her chest. It wasn't really this place where she had felt happiest. It was in Underworld, a place that had started to seem like a dream.

* * *

**A/N:** Thanks for reading :) If you have any ideas or suggestions or criticism I would very much appreciate it if you wrote a review or a message :] I really don't want to get stuck again...

The title of this chapter does not necessarily have to do with the song, for the song is quite happy and actually Tarrant and Alice are a little dooown in this chapter...hmm..understood? :D

Reviews make me Futterwacken vigorously :D

Fairfarren!:)


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